Mahoujin Guru Guru (2017) 1
Mahoujin Guru Guru (1994) 1
Old anime really is better.
But seriously, I find I do prefer the 1994 anime's take on the material. It's interesting, if not unexpected, how different the two anime feel. 2017 has a very contemporary approach to comedy: extremely hyperactive, extremely loud, completely in-your-face. As is not surprising from Ikuo Geso, it feels akin to Imaishi's style of humor cultivated at Gainax and Trigger despite a softer and rounder base aesthetic inherited from the source material. It has the same fondness for manic energy, and similar animation shortcuts such as characters being slid or bounced instead of genuinely animated at times (though I should say there's moments of strong animation in 2017 as well). The incorporation of pixel art is a nice way to pay homage to the 8-bit RPGs that the series is riffing on, but it also feels rather aggressive in its stylistic switches.
Meanwhile the 1994 anime is much more relaxed in its comedic pacing, which I find more bearable. While I like Asano's 2017 character designs a bit better than the 1994 designs - they're ever so slightly better shaped - I like the overall aesthetic of 1994 better, especially with its backgrounds that conjure up a classic Disney cartoon. It's got a children's storybook vibe, especially due to the placid female narrator patiently interjecting at various points to move the story forward or simply punctuate jokes. Meanwhile, the 2017 anime feels more like someone scrubbing through a story on a smartphone. In some sense, the 2017 anime is the Half-Minute Hero to 1994's Dragon Quest.
Both anime are well made, to judge from their first episodes, but the 1994 anime is simply more appealing to my tastes.
